Author's Note~
This story has been swimming in my head for YEARS. So here it is. It's probably gonna be my NaNoWriMo project so updates miiiiight be steady. Fingers crossed.
Prologue – Birds of a Feather
Despite their assumed greatness, fate rarely regards prodigies kindly. The world becomes hard and cold for them in time. The path for talented shinobi is like walking through a cave of rabid beasts with only a candle to light the way. That candle is a double-edged sword; it helps navigate but also captures the attention of beasts lurking within. Some get eaten alive, some get lost among the twists and turns, and some go mad in the darkness after the candle flickers out. All eyes watch, but most never truly see. Theirs are hidden hearts, smothered pain, forsaken pride. Yes, fate is not kind, but those birds of a feather find a way and flock together.
At eight years old Arisu Uchiha stumbled across one of Konoha's secrets; the Anbu Black Ops headquarters. She only followed her brother and his friend out of burning curiosity, out of admiration, out of innocence. But she also accomplished this feat with noticeable skill. No one sensed her presence, observing from the edges of the clearing, until a scout returned and plucked her out of the bushes.
The woman wore a badger mask, her pale brown hair pulled into a severe knot at the back of her head. She unceremoniously dumped Arisu into the clearing, bringing all eyes to them. The burning stares, the judgement in them was not something Arisu was unused to.
At eight years old Arisu Uchiha graduated the Academy, leaving without any friends or lasting bonds outside of the clan. Due to the teacher's blatant favoritism and acclaim of Arisu's talents, her classmates regarded her coldly. She became accustomed to eyes on her, to the attention that came with being too good. It never got her in trouble until curiosity, and fate, led her down a different path.
Arisu stood in the clearing, uncaring of the masked shinobi staring her down, but caring deeply about what those two with dark hair and dark eyes like her own were thinking. They had no fault in her being there that day, and she claimed so out loud. Derision met her words, aimed towards those two, until the badger-masked woman keenly pointed out that none of them had noticed her either. Evidently Arisu's skills at concealing her chakra from the Anbu won them over. The simmering suspicion laced with anger faded only to be replaced with logical consideration.
She would meet with the Hokage before sunrise the next day where her future as a ninja would be determined. As it turned out, her status as a prodigy would be useful in service to Konoha.
At eight years old Arisu Uchiha was placed on a special team, masked as Genin but operating as Anbu. They would be an experiment for future generations of Anbu selection. Little did the Hokage know at the time how that decision would alter the cords of fate; altered by a talented Uchiha girl who smiled like the sun and wanted nothing more than to spend carefree days with her brother and friends.
The badger-masked woman would lead this experimental team. Two other recent Academy graduates were selected, each talented in their own right and each carrying just a shard of darkness.
The woman introduced herself to the three children kneeling before her. "I'm Masuyo Kimura. I'm twenty-six years old and specialize in water and earth ninjutsu. Before I became an Anbu at nineteen I was an Jonin for two years. My favorite food is fried octopus. My hero is the Third Hokage for all the he does for the village." She paused to study the three chosen for her team. Her expression gave no inkling of her thoughts. "Say your name and a little about yourself."
A boy with shaggy brown hair and sky-blue eyes fiddled with a loose thread on his sleeve despite his serene expression. "Junichi Sasaki. Ten years old. I'd like to specialize in medical ninjutsu, but I'm proficient with earth ninjutsu at the moment. I also look up to the Third Hokage." He bowed his head after his introduction.
Surrounded by an aloof atmosphere, a girl with orange hair and green eyes spoke next. "My name's Katsumi Matsuoka. I'm eleven and I'm learning a bunch of new ninjutsu. I look up to the First Hokage for creating this village. I want to protect it no matter what, so here I am."
Arisu grinned broadly when her turn came about. "I'm Arisu Uchiha and I'm eight years old. I'm focusing on everything! But I guess my specialties are genjutsu and fire ninjutsu. As for who I look up to…" She trailed off in careful consideration before stating, "My brother, Shisui, and his friend Itachi definitely! Just don't tell my brother that. He'd never shut up about it." Winking at her new teammates, she put a finger against her lips.
For a moment the other two simply stared at her before relaxing. Junichi gave a shy half-smile while Katsumi beamed, appearing quite pleased with what she saw.
Masuyo found herself smiling with them as she placed a hand on Arisu's head. "You've got spunk," she commented. "I'm pretty sure everyone saw that when you danced right into headquarters."
"I did not dance in!" Arisu denied, a blush rising to her cheeks as her teammates chuckled at her expense. "I was totally hidden until you threw me in! Right to the wolves!"
They outright laughed now, the tension entirely forgotten.
"That's one way to get noticed," Katsumi commented dryly. "You must be really good at chakra control if Anbu didn't even sense you."
Masuyo nodded. "Indeed, she is. You all have something that brought you here today. The Hokage put this team together to see what slowly incorporating newly graduated ninja into the Anbu will be like. This team will both behave as a normal Genin team as well as a new Anbu team. Understood?"
All three solemnly agreed. A spark glowed in each of their eyes; a challenge seen, and a challenge accepted. A spark of love for the village and a spark of desire to protect it.
"Excellent, training starts immediately."
Fate coiled around Arisu's throat the night she overhead something in the Uchiha compound. A coup d'état. A betrayal of Konoha. A threat to the village and the people of it. The words coming out of Fugaku's mouth left her blood cold and vision narrowed to pin pricks. The agreement sounded unanimous.
This opposed everything she trained for. The past few months had been brutal and revealing. The shadows of the village, and the other villages, were not kind, but the innocent people were worth every drop of sweat and blood.
As the meeting concluded, Arisu hid herself. Those cold shadows concealed her well, and her oldest trick did not let her down. She waited until the coast was clear and sought out Shisui and Itachi. Her confidants and mentors in the life she now had to hide from others.
"We're aware," Shisui murmured, sharing a look with his friend.
Arisu bristled as the two silently communicated. "Why is this happening?" she demanded, knowing both had the answers but only one would give it to her. She stared at Itachi, pleading to be let into their circle.
Shisui made a face when Itachi conceded and began explaining to her; "My father is unhappy with how the clan is treated, as if we're outcasts of the village. He thinks action needs to be taken."
"And he's not alone." Arisu frowned.
"You've been to the Anbu observation deck, right?" Shisui kept an unusually straight face as he asked his sister, "What do you think of it?"
The Anbu observation deck appeared like a simple office building overlooking the Uchiha compound. However, since the Nine-tails attack eight years ago, Anbu were stationed there around the clock to observe the Uchiha for suspicious activity. Some in the higher echelons of Konoha suspected the Uchiha to have been behind it. And lately there had been unexplainable breaches in the barrier near the Uchiha compound. Arisu's frown deepened. She didn't quite know what to think of it. The suspicions never truly bothered her, not when she was trusted to join the Anbu so quickly. Perhaps there was some spite when she herself was stationed there to spy on her own clan, but the bitterness never stayed with her for long.
"It's strange, maybe unfair, but I don't hate it," she started, sounding out her thoughts slowly. "And I guess they're not entirely out there to be suspecting the clan if we—" she paused, and then corrected herself, "if some are planning a ridiculous revolution."
Shisui laughed aloud and mussed her hair, sending it kinking in every direction but down. "You really have a brain in there, sis. Amazing!"
Arisu swatted his hand away with a frustrated growl. "Apparently you don't since you seem to forget I hate it when you do that!"
"Oh, I never forget." He grinned. "And I agree with you. This is ridiculous."
Once again Itachi and Shisui shared a look.
"I guess you've both tried talking it out?" Arisu folded her arms across her chest and eyed the two of them. Secrets, secrets, and more secrets. A life of them now and a life of them to come. Their duties as Anbu demanded that much and more. None were strangers to it, to putting the village first.
"My father expects me to be his spy, his pipeline to Konoha's secrets," Itachi admitted. "The Hokage is aware of everything and wants to find a peaceful solution."
Arisu considered him, recalling when Shisui had introduced them. Sasuke had been there as well, a soon-to-be good friend, but most of her focus had been on him. He became her ideal that day, years ago, during a soft and gentle summer. He shaped her vision of shinobi, of how she wanted to be as a ninja, and she found herself following in his footsteps. She found herself thinking she would follow him to the ends of the world. A trust, hardened by missions and shared secrets, had been forged between the three of them. She didn't doubt Itachi for a second.
"The Military Police asked me to keep an eye on you," Shisui said to Itachi. "They think you've turned your back on the clan because of your Anbu position. Guess it's handy not being the clan leader's son and my business being kept private, isn't that right, Arisu?" His position in the Anbu was lesser known, as it should be. He nudged his sister and winked only to be shoved aside.
With her chin set high and fire burning in her dark eyes, Arisu said, "It's my turn to try then. This can't happen. I won't let it."
She approached the Hokage first. Kneeling respectfully in his office in her full Anbu gear, a bird mask covered her face, covered the conflicting mix of desperation and hope on it. She broached the topic without hesitation, first asking what he would do. His answer was roundabout, referring to his council, adamant for Uchiha blood. This conflict bled through generations past. It grew, unattended, nurtured by disregard and discrimination into a festering wound beyond treatment. Even the Third Hokage couldn't find a resolution to satisfy all parties. Time, he requested, he needed more time.
She went to Fugaku next, kneeling to him with the same respect, wearing her best clothes emblazed with the Uchiha symbol. She asked him why; why now and why this way. He explained that he was only acting on the will of majority of the clan. These were the voices cast aside for years, cast to the outskirts of the village, cast under surveillance and suspicion without explicit reason. But, she countered, but the village had to trust her and Itachi to allow them into their innermost ranks and bear their deepest secrets. It may be a small step, but it was forward, into a different future perhaps. And then she said what the Third Hokage had last confessed to her; the possibility of an Uchiha Hokage to come, within time, such fragile time.
Fate coiled around Arisu's neck, twisting, pulling, writhing as she spoke her heart.
At eight years old Arisu Uchiha changed fate by challenging it just one more time. A third voice to demand peace, to request time, to hope for a different future. A third voice to be heard at last, to drown out the dark outliers who shouted for war.
As she returned home, hope bloomed in her chest, sparkling and pure as the stars in the night sky overheard. Fate, not always kind, not always fair, had given just this once. But that dark shard inside her, that cloud nicking the moonlight, wondered that maybe fate would find another way.
Fate coiled around her neck, silent and still, waiting for its day to strike once more.
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